Homeland Security Investigations Fugitive Apprehended in Mexico

PITTSBURGH – A resident of Cuidad de Tuxpan, Veracruz, was arrested on Monday, February 27, 2017, by Mexican and U.S. immigration officials in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, following an Indictment by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of fraud conspiracy, mail fraud and access device fraud, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

The 37-count indictment, returned on August 2013, named Nicolas Frank Sucich, aka Francisco Javier Alavarez-Johnson, age 47, of Cuidad de Tuxpan, Veracruz, as a defendant.

According to the Indictment, between November 2007 and February 2011, Sucich conspired to defraud Liberty Travel and Scotiabank through the purchase of airline tickets and travel with an unauthorized Scotiabank MasterCard. The charged fraud counts in the Indictment total approximately $267,000 in loss.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000 for each count of wire fraud, and five years in prison and $250,000 for each of the access device fraud counts. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Sucich was scheduled to make an initial appearance today in federal court in the Southern District of Florida.

Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.